‘Motherless Mother’s Day Brunch’ creates space for support and celebration on a sensitive holiday

Miranda Malone can't remember a Mother’s Day spent with her mom.

She was just 5 months old when her mother, Rosalie, was killed in a vehicle accident, and she has lived a life full of missed memories since then. Birthdays, graduations, a wedding and the birth of her son last May — they're all milestones she’s experienced without her mom.

“It was difficult to not have her there and to not ask for guidance,” Malone said. “’Hey, Ma, what happens when I get my period? What happens when I like a boy at school?’ It was a really difficult space to be in to not have that point person.”

But those difficult moments ultimately directed her to take her grief and create a source of support for others.

Malone, a licensed therapist and owner of New Moon Therapy, LLC, specializes in grief and loss, trauma and anxiety. After practicing therapy in New York and Wisconsin for nearly a decade, she opened her private practice in 2022, and in December 2023, founded the Milwaukee Motherless Collective, a co-generational group aimed to support women who’ve lost their mothers to death.

“I have three decades of grief under my belt from losing my mom, and experiencing grief as early as I did really made me who I am,” Malone said.

The group meets monthly, but Malone is forming the collective into a nonprofit that will allow her to expand event offerings in the future.

A Mother’s Day brunch for those who've lost mothers

The Milwaukee Motherless Collective’s first public event, the Motherless Mother’s Day Brunch, will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 11 at Cloud Red, 4488 N. Oakland Ave., Shorewood.

The event is open to women of any age who’ve lost their mother to death, no matter how old the daughter was at the time.

While sad emotions are inevitable, Malone said the spirit of the event will be celebratory.

“It’s a time to not have this dark looming energy surrounding Mother’s Day, so people can find a different way to celebrate not only her life, but what your life looks like without her.”

The brunch will begin with a welcome circle and introductions, and Malone encourages guests, if they’re comfortable, to share stories of their mothers and how they passed, and to bring photographs to place on a memory table.

Tickets for the event are $25 per person and include light snacks provided by Calla & Asher catering, gourmet cookies from BB Cakes Bakery and two signature mocktails provided by Cloud Red.

Guests can create custom bouquets at a bloom bouquet bar during the brunch, and there will be an opportunity to pose with a photo or memento of their mom for a professional portrait by photographer Alex Rodriquez.

During a holiday that can feel isolating, Malone wants guests to feel like they have somewhere they can belong and can remember their mothers with those who understand.

“Everyone who attends the event is going to have lost their mom, and I think being in a room full of women on Mother's Day weekend who also don't have their moms is pretty powerful. You’re no longer the odd man out,” she said.

Laurin LaBonte, who unexpectedly lost her mother, Sherri, at the age of 19, looks forward to making those connections at the brunch.

“It’s been 10 years since I lost my mom, and Mother’s Day is still kind of a challenging time of year for me,” she said.

LaBonte said she typically has spent the day getting a favorite dessert and watching shows she remembers her mom watching, or getting together with friends to soften the tough day. But she looks forward to spending time with other women who share her similar experience.

“I really hope I can build friendships at the event,” she said. “Nobody talks about how hard it is to make friends as an adult; I'd like to meet people who might share perspectives and build new memories around that time.”

LaBonte began going to Milwaukee Motherless Collective’s monthly meetings in February and encourages others to come to the event regardless of their experience with support groups.

“You’re welcome to talk as much or as little as you’d like, and there’s no calling anyone out. Even if someone wants to just come and listen, I think that’s absolutely an option,” she said.

Malone understands that emotions surrounding Mother’s Day can vary widely from year to year, person to person.

“There were moments across my lifespan where I hated Mother’s Day. It was another reminder of just how different I felt from my peers and how isolated I felt,” she said. “But it looks different at every stage. Grief is going to flex and transform throughout your lifetime.”

After more than 30 years without her mom, Malone said she thought she’d gotten used to carrying the weight of grief. But when she gave birth to her son, her first child, last year, she was overcome.

"It cracked that grief wide open,” she said.

But it’s also given her new perspective. Malone said she looks forward to Mother’s Day, not just because she’ll be hosting her inaugural brunch event that weekend, but also because this year, her son’s first birthday lands on the holiday.

“It’s a full-circle moment,” Malone said. “When I had this human I loved more than anything, I was finally able to realize just how much love my mom had for me. So feeling it from the other side, her side, was really powerful.”

“There’s no healing grief. But I want to let people know that wherever they are in it, there's a space for them here in this collective, and it's one that I'm hoping to expand into many different spaces.”

How to attend the Milwaukee Motherless Collective’s Motherless Brunch

When: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 11

Where: Cloud Red, 4488 N. Oakland Ave., Shorewood

Tickets: $25 per person, available for purchase on Eventbrite.

To learn more: Follow Milwaukee Motherless Collective and New Moon Therapy, LLC on Instagram. Sign up for the New Moon Therapy newsletter at newmoontherapyllc.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Motherless Mother's Day Brunch in Milwaukee creates space for support